Find out how popular the last name Janson is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Janson.

Janson, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Janson surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Janson in America

Janson is the 8408th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Janson surname appeared 3,930 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 1 people would have the surname Janson.

We can also compare 2010 data for Janson to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name Janson

The surname Janson is of Scandinavian origin, specifically from Sweden and Norway. It is derived from the personal name Johannes, which is the Scandinavian form of the Hebrew name John. The suffix "son" was commonly added to Scandinavian names to indicate the son of the person with that name.

During the Middle Ages, the name Janson was primarily found in regions of Sweden and Norway. It is believed to have originated as early as the 11th or 12th century when the use of hereditary surnames became more widespread in Scandinavia. The oldest known record of the name Janson dates back to a document from the year 1304, which mentions a man named Petrus Janson living in Dalarna, Sweden.

In the 14th century, the name Janson appeared in several medieval records and manuscripts in Sweden and Norway. One notable example is the Icelandic Landnámabók, which mentions a man named Thorbjorn Janson who settled in Iceland during the Viking Age.

The earliest recorded examples of the name Janson can be traced back to the 15th century. In 1487, a man named Hans Janson was listed as a resident of Gothenburg, Sweden. Another early record from 1523 mentions a farmer named Olof Janson living in Småland, Sweden.

Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals with the surname Janson. One of the most famous was the Swedish painter and engraver Cornelis Janson van Ceulen (1593-1664), who was known for his portraits and religious works. Another notable figure was the Swedish botanist and physician Nils Janson (1734-1789), who made significant contributions to the study of plant taxonomy.

Other prominent individuals with the surname Janson include:

1. Kristofer Janson (1841-1917), a Swedish painter and illustrator known for his depictions of rural life.
2. Eugene Jansson (1862-1915), a Swedish-American author and journalist who wrote extensively about the immigrant experience in the United States.
3. Hildur Janson (1887-1976), a Swedish artist and textile designer who played a significant role in the Swedish Arts and Crafts movement.
4. Sven Janson (1917-2003), a Swedish mathematician known for his work in combinatorics and graph theory.
5. Gunnar Janson (born 1938), a Swedish mathematician and professor emeritus at Uppsala University, who has made significant contributions to the field of probability theory.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Janson

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Janson.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Janson was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Janson has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Janson was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Janson, please contact us.

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